“The club wants to avoid unforeseen incidents”, — write: sport.ua
Previously, the club managed to postpone this match from the last rounds, where all the key issues of the championship are decided, and tried to ensure the most calm atmosphere during the meeting with Barcelona.
All pre-planning for the Espanyol derby was focused on averting risks, with the club well aware that the return of Joan Garcia, who moved to Barcelona in the summer, at the RCDE Stadium would cause heightened tensions among fans. Long before the numerous meetings with the Mossos d’Esquadra police over security measures, the installation of nets behind the goals and a moderate activity during the week – no player interviews, with training sessions open to family audiences – the club tried to minimize the risks by making two direct bids to La Liga.
Firstly, Espanyol requested before the summer that the derby at the RCDE Stadium should, if possible, not be held in the final rounds of the championship, as has usually happened in recent seasons. The club considered it pointless to add “fuel to the fire” in a match that is traditionally considered high-risk (as in the last season and in the 2022/23 season), when “Barcelona” became the champion on this day, and at the same time, “Perico” were in a difficult tournament situation. Last May, there was a massive accident near the stadium: a driver from a nearby neighborhood hit 14 people, two of whom were seriously injured and needed weeks of treatment in the intensive care unit.
Although this request was granted, La Liga did not take into account Espanyol’s second request – to play the match as early as possible, specifically at 16:15 local time. After all, it is obvious that the later the game starts, the more tense the atmosphere can become among some groups of fans, who will continue the “warm-up” before the match for several more hours. This is exactly what happened, because the derby was scheduled for 21:00 – the latest possible time.
This is happening against the background of a particularly critical situation for “Espanyola” not of a sporting nature, but of a disciplinary nature. RCDE Stadium has been under warning of possible closure since September 26, 2024, when referee Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez was hit in the chest by a glass thrown from the stands after a La Liga match against Villarreal. At the same time, the stadium has already received a match behind closed doors due to interference on the field during the derby on May 14, 2023.